Responsible environmental stewardship at CRGI
As a leading producer of industrial rubber products, Canada Rubber Group Inc. (CRGI) is committed to reducing the environmental impacts that result from our production processes. A key aspect of our environmental stewardship at CRGI is recycling the inevitable rubber waste that results from our operations.
Currently, CRGI is recycling approximately 100,000 pounds per year of rubber waste into useful, eco-friendly products. Through its recycling program, CRGI diverts rubber waste from landfills where the material could harm the environment as it degrades.
Waste from Manufacturing Industrial Rubber Products
By its very nature, the production of industrial rubber products involves some waste. “At CRGI, we are very conscious of how we recycle rubber waste,” notes CRGI plant manager Jim McDonald. “While we always strive to maximize our production yields and reuse any left-over rubber to the fullest extent possible, there is still some rubber waste that we must dispose of. Recycling this waste rubber is the best way to reduce the environmental impacts and consequences.”
CRGI is a leading producer of industrial rubber products. Products which CRGI supplies include gaskets and sealing solutions, automotive and OEM solutions, and custom fabrications. Many of CRGI’s products are fabricated from sheet rubbers, advanced elastomers, and other materials.
Another aspect of CRGI’s commitment to environmental stewardship is customer education. “Many fabricated rubber products can have end-of-life environmental impacts,” says CRGI president Gord Sirrs. “CRGI is committed to educating our customers about how to handle rubber products after they have completed their useful life. This further helps reduce the environmental impacts and consequences of fabricated rubber products once they have ran their useful life-cycle.”
New Products from Recycled Industrial Rubber Products
Waste rubber that is sent to recycling by CRGI typically finds its way into three new product streams. First, there are products derived from rubber crumb which is often used for landscaping, sports fields and molded products. Then there is products derived from shred that are often used in road construction. Finally, there are derived fuels where waste rubber may be used in kilns or boiler-type applications to generate energy.
CRGI’s recycling program is helping to change the way that the market looks at waste rubber. “Through recycling, waste rubber is no longer considered to be a problematic waste product,” says Kevin Ferguson, vice president of operations at CRGI. “Waste rubber has become an increasingly valuable commodity in its own right, giving birth to variety of new products through recycling. As a company that is very cognizant of our corporate environmental responsibility, we are extremely pleased to be able to contribute to that process through our recycling program."
To find out more about the industrial rubber products that CRGI produces, or our recycling program, please contact us at crg@canadarubbergroup.com.